SpondonBassed

Put it another way... How many people do you know who would admit to singing along with 'Do you wanna be in my gang my gang my gang, do you wanna...'?

No book then...?

Yes. I got an ash body and a maple neck. The body is three sections glued together where I expected four going by the example on Pitbull's website. That was a bonus even though the butt joints aren't parallel to the centreline because the grain is so interesting. The neck has some lovely birdseye figuring on the headstock and it has a profile that I like better than my most recent new purchase. It's on my signature file or here if you haven't already seen it. I used most of the components as they were adequate with the exception of the crackly and ill fitting output socket and selected screws that I replaced with high quality stainless steel posidrives. Needless to say the supplied strings weren't kept after the first stringing. It's not quite how I want it even now but it plays well enough for me to put additional work on the long finger. I intend to use this at OM nights and stuff.

Mine worked out at about £250 with import duty. You did well.

Assuming you do a neat job routing for the split pick-up why not keep the chequered theme by doing black squares on a clear polycarbonate or acrylic pick guard against the natural finish? Keep the kit's J type control plate and with clever placement of the check pattern, you should be able to conceal the internals. If you want to tie it in a bit more with the black, stain the grain with jet black ink before finishing with oil. Is it vulgar of me to ask how much you paid for the J kit? It's very good in the photos. PM me if you want discretion.

Nippy aren't I? It's a pity you aren't an incandescent light bulb. You've nearly got enough Watts to dimly light a pantry! Let me make it 59.

Nice. I'd go for the simple wipe on, wipe off approach with Tru-Oil or similar. A light coat of Teak Oil every 24 hours with a minimum of three coats worked very well for me on an ash body. I think it tolerates knocks better than a thick coat. If the wood beneath is easily bruised, nothing is going to prevent that and I'd be even more inclined to go natural as a consequence. You can still tint the grain if you want a bit of colour in there. May I ask who's kit did you go for?

I didn't use any fancy terms just "headless thunderbird" in the advanced search panel with all the defaults checked.

Natural. I am not fussed about so-called authenticity. Do you have the kit yet and if so does the body grain lend itself to the idea?

Welcome Gary. Lots of folk here are having their second bite of the big bass cherry. I suppose there are even some who are going for their third and all.

I'd be interested if it was a five... and it wasn't on EB... and the seller was open to a haggle... and it was local so I could try before I buy...and if I wasn't reminded of Leo every time I looked at the body shape... and it... Nah, forget it. I bought my five string Steiny for that sort of money new. I have a B2A as well. I think I've had 'nuff of headless bass for a bit. Funny enough, I never wanted to progress to a composite version or a Status. I like the sound of wood and these days I am mostly tending towards the full bodied guitars with compact heads. @T-Bay I'd like to try the headless Thunderbird still. Making the body from scratch should make it interesting when it comes to hanging it off the strap. "The sit" as @Andyjr1515 describes it. Are you keeping a book as to whether the nut will end up at ear, shoulder or elbow level? I'll have a punt on it floating nicely at the shoulder. (Yippee! I finally got how to tag other members into the conversation. Er, did I really just admit to that out loud?)

Sorry. I'm only halfway through reading it. Hahahaha!

@charic the search engine works. I'm not sure why I can't tag your name like everyone else seems to. Fixed

Agreed. I'll get the pancakes and hoisin sauce.

Aw knackers. We still love ya anyway.

Something to look forward to. Good one.

That's got some lovely clean lines. Very nice.

Cool.

Welcome Simone. That's a nice bass. I really like the direct wiring idea.

That's a very good point. Even my pocket-list is a crutch. I'd not have gone without that though. I seldom needed it but when another member of the group asks How does that go again? just before a performance it's helped me not to lose the plot with nerves.

I am reassured to hear that the ultra-light Bass is the one that you will show-off. The guitar stuff is just to demonstrate that you've been there and done that - right? Heeheehee. I am only jesting when I say that I now think of the ultra-light bass as the Featherlight. Other names are available if Durex decide to get uppity about it.

I'm assuming that you've got a start on singing while playing. It's more than I have so take/reject my advice accordingly; As a lapsed chorister I'd suggest that you do the repetition thing but only up to the point of reading through twice for each song during a session. Too many repetitions in one go can slow you to the point of wanting to give up. If you can, try to do the whole set in one session at the earliest opportunity. It's hateful to think that after doing the work there are yet more songs to tick off the list. Make personal associations in your mind with the lyrics so that you have more of a connection to them. For instance, if you are learning Mustang Sally, picture a horse but with the head of anyone you know called Sally on it. The more silly the association, the more memorable it is. From memory, copy the first line of each song, in hand-writing, onto a piece of low-tech paper. The act of hand-writing the first line (or two or three if needed) made a more lasting imprint on my memory. The sheet used to go in my pocket. It was good to know that it was there, like the key to a lock, any time I needed it. It only got used a few times. You'll be fine but good luck anyway. How many songs have you got to learn and when do you aim to perform them? Is this an indication that there may be a hiatus in the compilation of material for the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Kebabery? Do little Smugs get fed-up with being felt all of the time?

I agree with you that it is worth checking for equally good mechanical contact beneath the saddle at each string contact point. There must be full contact at each of the transducer's high spots. The example in the photo looks like it fits one way only but could it be that yours went in upside down? I don't think that the following is caused by the same thing as in your case but it sounded similar to your problem; 'In 1968, Baldwin produced the first under-the-saddle transducer, which could reproduce the vibrations of both the guitar’s top and its strings. The pickup—essentially a thin strip of piezos that could be sandwiched under the guitar’s saddle—suffered from uneven string-to-string balance, and it was exclusive to Baldwin’s guitars. But its potential didn’t go unnoticed by modern acoustic pioneers Ovation. When their star endorsee, Glen Campbell, became tempted by the Baldwin system, Ovation’s R&D team worked overtime to produce a better unit. The result was an under-the-saddle pickup with pure tone and exceptional balance. It proved so popular that Ovation became synonymous with the term electric-acoustic.' http://gear-vault.com/how-do-piezo-acoustic-work/

Hahahahahaha. I understand why you'd want to be defensive about the decal. That topic brought out some surprisingly strong feelings here and there. On the decal itself; when you say that you did one, how was it done? Is there a special printer paper that you can get or what?